Writing On Walls
by AMKelley
Summary: Daniel gets caught shoplifting. Again. And what should be routine gets turned around when Daniel befriends a boy that's a little new to the whole juvenile rebellion scene. But it turns out Daniel isn't the only naive one.


"Alright, Daniel. You know the drill. Take a seat and wait for your dad to pick you up," Strahm said with a heavy sigh, seeming to be uninterested in the current situation. Seeing Daniel at least once a week became routine to Strahm. "And behave yourself, okay? I don't want the junkies being whipped into a frenzy."

"Yes, sir," Daniel said meekly.

Strahm walked over to the receptionist and handed her a file, pointing over to one of the men that sat in one of the chairs across from Daniel. Agent Strahm was a nice man, if not a little somber at times. Some would say he was too serious but with a job like this, hey, he had to be at the top of his game with no distractions or emotions clouding his better judgment.

Daniel respected Strahm and didn't dare defy him or interrupt whenever the agent was giving him a speech about not breaking the law and what kind of future was in store for Daniel if he kept this up. He'd only be a minor for so long and once he was eighteen he wouldn't get slaps on the wrist anymore, he'd get jail time. That was no future for a kid like him.

Some of the regulars were here from what Daniel could tell. There was Cecil who was either in here for theft or drug possession, or even aggravated assault. Then there was Obi, brought in for arson no doubt, Addison for solicitation of prostitution, and right at a convenient moment Mallick was brought in by Gibson. Well, this certainly is a party now.

"Hey, Mallick! What'd they bring you in for this time?" Daniel asked with an amused smile playing about his lips. He already knew the answer but he loved hassling Mallick every chance he got.

"I keep trying to score heroin, but they won't let me," Mallick pouted.

Mallick had his hands in cuffs behind his back with Gibson guiding him with a hand at one of his shoulders. Mallick had that "foiled again" look on his face and, just like Strahm had been with Daniel, Gibson had an uninterested sigh escaping his lips. This too was terribly routine for the police and it was getting old. If the regulars haven't wised up yet then why not just put them away indefinitely?

"Well, you can't have everything," Daniel said.

Gibson nudged Mallick with an elbow and Mallick exhaled over dramatically with a huff.

"Alright. I'm moving, I'm moving," Mallick sighed in frustration.

Gibson motioned over to Strahm to take Mallick of his hands and walked back over to Daniel to take a seat next to him. The detective looked disappointed in the boy and Daniel felt himself shrink at the thought of Gibson judging him in the silence of his mind. Gibson, like most of the others, kept faith in Daniel and always tried to put him on the right track, it was just a matter of time when that faith would die away and no one would look out for Daniel anymore.

Daniel felt like he was taking them for granted. What a brat...

"Shoplifting?" As if Gibson had to ask. Daniel nodded. Gibson sighed. "What was worth the trip downtown for this time?"

Daniel didn't respond. He just kept his mouth shut and his head down in shame, the guilt Gibson's stare could reveal was uncanny and there was no hiding it. It was useless to hide anything from Gibson because he'd be able to read you like a book after awhile, besides, Daniel wasn't very good at hiding things in the first place. If he was he wouldn't be here right now.

What irony that was.

"Look, I know Strahm always gives you 'The Speech' but it's high time I had a talk with you myself. There's something you need to understand, Daniel. Your father won't always be there to bail you out when you're in trouble. There comes a time when every kid has to grow up and for you, it's now," Gibson warned.

There was no use in doubting Gibson's words when he was dead serious and making eye contact with you. He wasn't bluffing or trying to scare Daniel (well, kinda) but looking out for the boy's best interest and future. In Gibson's eyes, Daniel had potential. Every kid has potential in the beginning, some just choose a different path than others. Gibson would be damned if he let Daniel take the wrong one.

"You're what..? Fifteen? Sixteen?"

"Seventeen, sir," Daniel mumbled weakly under Gibson's intense stare.

"Seventeen? And you really want to make a career out of stealing?" Gibson questioned, not believing what goes through Daniel's mind.

"No, sir," Daniel defended worriedly.

"Well, the way your heading says you are. By the time you're twenty-three you'll be just like those sad, lost souls across from you. Do you really want that, Daniel?"

"Well.. No, sir-"

"Then I suggest you do something about it. Focus on school, get a job, maybe make plans for college," Gibson offered. "Figure out your life before you ruin it, Daniel. There's so much you'll miss if you spend it behind concrete and metal all your life."

Without another word, Gibson stood up and pat Daniel warmly on the shoulder to walk off. Probably to have a chat with Mallick next. But Mallick wouldn't be so easy to break because, unlike Daniel, he wasn't a kid and he was a drug addict. Strictly speaking, Mallick won't be so eager to kick the habit all willy nilly.

Daniel just sat in his chair waiting for his dad to come and collect his sorry ass, like he had on so many other occasions, and listened to Cecil and Addison argue. This happened almost everytime they were here. To not hear them bicker would be strange. Obi sat in the middle of them, seeming to block it all out somehow and Daniel wondered why they didn't just sit apart if they fought all the time.

But even as Daniel took the time to let Gibson's words soak in there was a boy, around his age, being escorted to the lobby as if he didn't know where to go. Was he new to town or something? The boy wore baggy jeans and a grey long sleeved shirt with a brown short sleeved one over it, much like what Daniel was wearing. He took tentative steps and his brown eyes darted around at all the creeps sitting in the lobby. He looked scared.

He's never been in trouble with the law, Daniel observed.

The policeman that escorted him left the boy to find a chair of his own and take a seat next to the friendliest looking person. Daniel. It could be that Daniel looked harmless or it could be that Daniel was around the boy's age, whatever the reason the boy took the seat right next to Daniel and gave him a nervous smile. The boy definitely did not belong here.

He was brunette, about an inch or two taller, and baby-faced. Daniel wasn't exactly one of the meanest looking teenagers you'd find on the street and stealing useless junk wasn't very tough either, but Daniel knew enough to see that this kid didn't have a criminal cell in his entire body. He looked too innocent.

"I'm guessing you don't come here often?" Daniel mused with a friendly smile.

The boy blushed. "No. This is my first time. You?"

"I'm afraid not. I could give you a tour of the whole station if you wanted," Daniel chuckled.

"So you get around a lot, huh?" The brunette asked curiously, blushing when Daniel quirked his eyebrows and smiled slyly. "Not like that, I mean.. Unless you're here for... for... well..."

"It's alright. I know what you mean," Daniel grinned from ear to ear, sticking out his hand to the brunette's. "I'm Daniel."

"Bobby," the other boy greeted, still a little nervous.

Addison called Cecil a pervert and spat words at him like asshole, prick, and junkie, and Bobby's attention diverted from Daniel and over to the bickering. Bobby visibly backed up in his chair, trying to make himself invisible and trying his hardest to not pay attention. He was afraid that if he was caught gawking they'd lash out on him as well.

"Don't worry. If you don't get between them, you don't exist," Daniel whispered to Bobby. "It's just people arguing. Nothing new."

"Do they always do this?"

"If they didn't, people would think they were replaced by robots."

"And they're not dangerous?" Bobby asked cautiously.

"Addison is harmless, she won't fight unless she's provoked physically. Cecil on the other hand..."

"What?" Bobby gushed.

"He's unpredictable. He attacked a man for just looking at him."

Bobby gave Daniel an "Are you fucking serious" look and tried in vain to not look at the one named Cecil, but it was no use. Now that he was warned, he couldn't look away. It's like telling someone to not press the big red button. Daniel found it oddly cute that Bobby was so naive and nervous around a couple of detoxing junkies with short tempers.

He was obviously distressed and Daniel didn't really help to calm Bobby's nerves when he had told him about Cecil. It was clear that Bobby couldn't help but stare at them fighting so Daniel would do his best to help his new friend. He'd talk to Bobby and distract him for as long as he needed to and hopefully Bobby would forget all about Cecil and Addison.

"So what's a handsome boy like you doing in the slammer?" Daniel quipped confidently and it seemed to work since Bobby stared at him like he was weird, but Bobby blushed in turn so that was always a good sign.

"I guess... Vandalism," Bobby replied unsure, furrowing his eyebrows and looking down at Daniel's shoes in deep thought.

"You guess? Were you tagging or something?" Daniel giggled, succeeding in keeping Bobby preoccupied with questions. It wasn't only just to distract him, Daniel was truly curious about the other boy. Intrigued.

"Not exactly. I wasn't using spray paint or anything and I wouldn't exactly call it tagging," Bobby said vaguely, confusing himself for a moment and bringing on a short pause. "I don't know how to put it. It's so embarrassing."

Bobby blushed and scratched they back of his head, contemplating whether or not he should continue. He figured what the hell. He had already told Daniel what he was brought in for, might as well tell him what he was writing as the police rolled up and took him away. It's not like anyone else here got away with anything without feeling a little embarrassed.

"I was writing on this old building that had been condemned for years. I lost a bet with a friend of mine so I had to write, in black sharpie, that I liked kissing boys," Bobby mumbled so only Daniel could hear.

"What happened?"

"Well, when the police came along I was only halfway through writing it so it didn't come out like it was supposed to. Instead of saying: BOBBY CARTER LIKES KISSING BOYS, it said, BOBBY CARTER LIKES KISS."

"And that's worse how?" Daniel puzzled.

"Well, now everyone will think I like the band Kiss."

"You'd rather them think you like kissing boys?" Daniel inquired.

"I'd rather have people know a fact about me rather than a lie," Bobby huffed, smiling and blushing until he turned a soft pink.

At first Daniel agreed with his statement but when he replayed the sentence in his head, a light bulb sparked in his head and his "clueless" meter flicked over to "totally gets it" as he realized what Bobby had just said. Bobby had just told him that he likes kissing boys and Daniel didn't know what to say to that. Now he was blushing.

"So what did you do? I mean, besides kill people with that charming smile of your's," Bobby complemented sweetly, detecting the change in Daniel's confident, know-it-all aura.

"Are you hitting on me in a police station right now?" Daniel asked out loud because he couldn't wrap his head around the question in his mind.

"And if I am? What then?" Bobby asked seriously.

Daniel's icy eyes searched out any bluff he could find in the brunette's light brown ones, but found none. Bobby wasn't as innocent as Daniel had previously thought and now he felt like the inexperienced one. Daniel was treading on territory only Bobby knew about so he had no choice but to run with it. No turning back now.

"Well, then I guess I'd have to go to that building and help you finish that sentence," Daniel replied, trying not to sound like a nervous virgin.

"Sounds like a plan," Bobby beamed.


End file.
